Ryan Wood and Tom Silverstein setup the Packers pre-game walkthrough
Beat writers Ryan Wood from the Green Bay Press Gazette and Tom Silverstein from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel watch the Packers pre-game walkthrough
SÃO PAULO, Brazil − PackersNews reporters Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette are in São Paulo, Brazil, this week to cover the Green Bay Packers’ Week 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s the first NFL game in South America, so we asked them to share the experience.
Here are their observations from their second day in Brazil, where the Packers have scheduled a walkthrough practice and where there will be a fan rally tonight.
Tom Silverstein: Tucker Kraft, who was added to the injury report with a back injury, is in uniform and doing most of the warmup drills.
Running back MarShawn Lloyd, who sat out practice early in the week, is practicing for a second straight day.
Ryan Wood: Sean Clifford officially made the trip to Brazil. Matt LaFleur still hasn’t named a backup quarterback behind Jordan Love for Friday night’s opener.
Clifford is on the practice squad and Malik Willis, recently acquired from the Tennessee Titans, is on the 53-man roster.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur talks Brazil experience ahead of opener
The Packers are getting ready for Friday’s game against the Eagles. Coach Matt LaFleur talks about Brazil and Thursday’s practice plan.
Tom Silverstein: The Brazilian media definitely wanted to know what Matt LaFleur thought of São Paulo and what his experience has been.
LaFleur played it well, complimenting the city and expressing excitement to play the game here. But the truth is they haven’t seen much of the city other than on the buses they took from the airport to the hotel.
They arrived Wednesday night, slept at the hotel and bused to the training facility for today’s practice.
“It is a privilege,” LaFleur said of being in Brazil. “I mean, any opportunity that we get to go anywhere, whether it’s home, away, overseas, it’s a great opportunity for our players, for our team, to show what we’re all about.”
When asked if he’d keep his passport handy in anticipation of more international games, he said, “I’m sure we’re going to be playing more of these.”
Tom Silverstein: Packers coach Matt LaFleur said in his pre-practice news conference that the team will not have a chance to walk around the stadium before the game.
They are practicing at the FC Corinthians training fields and not the stadium. The Eagles are practicing at the stadium.
LaFleur said the players will figure out what cleats to wear when they get to pre-game warmups. He said the logistics of the sidelines, coaches boxes and other normal functions have been worked out, so he doesn’t anticipate a problem.
He joked that the Packers are prepared to play on any surface given how slick Lambeau Field is sometimes.
The practice is going to be about 70 minutes and it will be more active than what the Packers could do in a normal Saturday walk-through.
He called it a “shake out” after the long flight. The Packers arrived here last night and this is their first chance to stretch their legs.
Brazilian Packers fans get their first glimpse of their team
Ryan Wood: The excitement from Brazilian fans here at Corinthians training grounds is palpable and infectious. The Packers and NFL-credentialed fans who run blogs in South America, from both Brazil and Uruguay have provided a different flavor to the proceedings.
The fan blog accounts owners here in attendance sat to prepare for Matt LaFleur’s pre-practice interview about 40 minutes before he was scheduled to arrive at the podium. One celebrated member of today’s media, Marcus Rovere, the owner of the Packers Brasil account, brought a cheesehead and No. 11 Packers jersey with “PackersBR” on the name plate. The account was created in 2011.
It’s worth remembering the NFL wanted to play a game in Brazil to connect with its South American fans. To see the joy of the credentialed fans here, how much this means to them, it really hammers home why the league thought this was important.
A chilly winter morning in São Paulo … is 76 degrees
Ryan Wood: You can tell it’s winter in the southern hemisphere. Even if winter in Brazil is entirely unlike winter in Wisconsin.
The sun set by 6 p.m. last night in São Paulo. This morning, I walked to the media bus with the temperature at 76. It feels wonderful, but especially cool for Brazil.
Heading to Corinthians Training Ground, home of the popular Corinthians soccer team and, today, where the Packers will hold their day-before-the-game walkthrough.
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Publish date : 2024-09-05 04:32:00
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